How life came from non-life is still largely a scientific mystery.



Because the topic does not have as many potentially useful applications as other areas of science, less research has been performed in this area. However, scientists are currently approaching this challenge from a number of different perspectives, and it is possible that broad consensus will emerge in the future.1

God could have created the first life through regular processes, or God could have done a miracle. In either case, BioLogos affirms that God is the creator and sustainer of all life, from the first life form to each of us. If consensus for a particular scientific explanation emerges, we will celebrate, because we will have more insight into God’s handiwork. Yet no matter how far science progresses, we can never exhaust the wonder and gratitude we feel for God’s good gift of life.

The First Life on Earth

In discussions about the origin of life, an important first step is clarifying what is meant by life. The first forms of life on Earth were probably very different from what we would call life today. It may be tempting to think of life as anything containing the DNA double helix so familiar to us. However, the main property required for early life is self-replication. The earliest self-replicating systems could have been made out of DNA, RNA, or some other basic building blocks. The key feature of such systems would have to be the ability to gather chemicals from the local environment and make copies of themselves.



Earth: How did life begin?


The Miller-Urey Experiment





How Life Came Together

Explanations of how the amino acids, nucleotides, and sugars were formed, how they assembled in the form of DNA and RNA, and then how these building blocks of life came to replicate themselves and acquire the enzymes to facilitate this process, are all still speculative. Many interesting ideas are being researched, however, including the deep sea vent theory,12 radioactive beach theory13 and crystal or clay theory.14Another opinion, held by Francis Crick and others, is that the only explanation for life on Earth is that it came from another planet.15 However, this type of explanation only pushes the question farther back: How did this extraterrestrial life originate? A compelling scientific explanation of the origin of life here on Earth has not yet emerged.




Regardless of how, it is clear that life did emerge, and the first life forms were single-celled organisms that began to replicate and diversify. The lack of scientific consensus on the origin of life does not diminish the strength of evolutionary theory, which only seeks to explain the diversity of life forms after life had already begun.

Although the origin of life is certainly a genuine scientific mystery, this is not the place for thoughtful people to wager their faith. All that has happened in the history of life has happened according to God’s sovereign purposes, and Christ “is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17).

Notes & References

Last updated on:July 2, 2019